Banding program in the Straits tracks Michigan's smallest owl

MACKINAW CITY -- They are not endangered or even rare, but most people have never seen Michigan's smallest owl -- the northern saw-whet.

The tiny nocturnal owls make their home in vacant spaces such as woodpecker holes and do most of their feeding and mating at night. The bird is even more elusive because unlike most other Michigan owls, the saw-whet owl migrates great distance each spring and fall.

Ed Pike, a licensed bird handler from Cross Village, has been studying the migratory patterns of the bird through a nationwide group of professions and license amateurs called "Saw-Whet Net" that uses mist netting to catch and band the birds.

"The great horned owl and barred owl are common locally and not migratory," said Pike, who is a member of the Straits Area Audubon Society. "The saw-whets are migratory and -- like a lot of birds -- move south to find food easier in the winter time and in the spring move back north."

Making them even difficult to find is their small 6-8 inch-tall frame and camouflaged plumage that helps them hide during the day.

But, one of the areas the birds have regularly been found while migrating is the Straits of Mackinac.

Pike will begin his banding this weekend at the Emmet County-owned, 550-acre Headlands Dark Sky Park west of Mackinaw City.

Because spring conditions are only starting to appear outside, Pike is starting his banding later than usual this year.

"They are not that rare," Pike says. "They just aren't seen that often. They nest locally, or at least I'm under the assumption they nest locally, but they are small and somewhat secretive and only act at night making them seldom seen."

Saw-Whet Net volunteers use audio luring to call in the birds to the thin netting.

Expert aren't sure why, but the call of one saw-whet owl can attract others to come "say hi" as Pike puts it, noting it shows their gregarious or social side.

A good night in Northern Michigan might land 10 to 15 of the owls, Pike says. Many other times he has come up skunked.

"You never know," he said.

Little research has been done on exactly how far the small owls are traveling each fall and spring, making the banding a critical way for data collection.

"One of the things we are trying to learn is about their movement patterns and where they move in from," Pike said. "That is what we are hoping to learn."

Birds banded in Northern Michigan by Pike have been discovered in Indiana and vice versa. A few others have been found in western Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ontario.

"It's a little hard to tell at this point exactly where they are going to when they go south," Pike said.

A lack of qualified banders in Ontario along the northern Lake Superior shoreline and in the southern United States has limited what is known about the full range of the small owls.

Pike says some banded saw-whets have been found as far south as Georgia in the last few years.

"You have to give those guys credit, because they put in the time and only catch very few birds," he added.

Banded "recoveries" -- finding a bird with a band in place -- does not happen often. Smaller electronic transmitters have helped track some of the birds, but it is a very expensive process that is out of financial reach for most of the volunteer banders.

Pike, for example, pays for almost all the banding out of his own pocket and some support from local audubon groups to help fund nets, etc.

Those costs and limited resources mean the banding of saw-whet owls remains a work in progress.

"Of the percentage of the (saw-whet owls) moving through Northern Michigan, I'm sure I catch very few of them," Pike said. "But, nobody knows."

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EVENT: Owl Banding and Stargazing with Ed Pike and the Straits Area Audubon Society

DETAILS: Each year Ed Pike, a licensed bird bander, conducts research on migrating saw-whet owls at the Headlands and he invites the Straits Area Audubon Society to observe the activities. This year Pike has agreed to have a session open for the public to come and observe these activities at the Headlands.

Mary Stewart Adams, Dark Sky Park program director, will also be on hand to offer the stargazing component of the evening's activities.

TIME: 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5; 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6

DATES: Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6 (Friday event is full and closed to reservations)

LOCATION: Guest House at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park

NOTE: Because the program is dealing with a sensitive nighttime habitat, space will be limited and reservations are required. To make reservations, or if you have questions, contact the office of dark sky development, (231) 348-1713.